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Seven Strange and Wonderful Dishes

Nothing succeeds like excess! The earlier mental_floss article Food Challenges for the Super Hungry, Super Competitive or Super Cheap celebrated foods that are excessive in size. Now we turn to foods that are excessive because of what they are made of. People love to tinker with food. If you like two kinds of food, why not put them together? Just because they don't normally appear at all similar is no reason to shy away from combining them! Or you find one taste that you love, you can go completely overboard with it. And you can take something normal and traditional and stand it on its head to suit your own tastes.

1. The Luther Burger

One of the specialties served at Mulligan's, a bar in Decatur, Georgia is the Luther Vandross Burger. This may have been conceived by the late Luther Vandross, or just named in honor of him. It's a bacon cheeseburger served between two Krispy Kreme donuts. Several restaurants now carry the "donut burger". Some recipes specify the Luther Burger must include a full pound of beef, as in the homemade versions shown here. (update: Tim left a comment telling us Mulligan's is no longer in business. If there's a resturant near you serving these, let us know!)

2. McDonalds Pizza

Along the theme of two great tastes that taste great together, Pimp My Snack used McDonalds cheeseburgers as a topping for pizza! They didn't stop there. This pizza also has McDonalds fries and a package of bacon. With cheese on top.

More surprising edibles, after the jump.

3. Deep Fried Balls of Butter

Paula Deen of The Food Network is known for her Southern fried recipes featuring delicious butter. Last spring she featured a recipe for Fried Butter Balls on her show in an episode titled Everything's Better With Butter. The concoction came from one of her fans, who was invited to be on the show. The whole thing was presented as somewhat of a joke. The recipe caused horror among her fans and on sites across the internet, but she tried it herself before sharing, so it must be pretty good.

4. Bacon Cheese Baconburger

They say bacon will improve the flavor of anything. Witness the bacon cheeseburger, popular at every fast food outlet you can think of. The Bacon Cheese Baconburger takes this concept one step beyond. In addition to the bacon and the cheese, note that the hamburger patty itself is made of ground bacon! There's a complete subgenre of recipes where you add bacon to... anything! Such as apple pie, candy, or a martini.

5. M&Ms Donut

Just as some think anything is better with bacon on it, others know that you can improve existing foods by putting candy on it, or in it. This was the thinking behind the DQ Blizzard, which added chopped cookies or candy to softserve ice cream. Now Dunkin' Donuts is trying their hand at it, with the introduction of the M&M Donut. Yes, a donut with miniature M&Ms on top! Homer Simpson will be in hog heaven. In a partnership deal with Mars (owners of M&Ms), Dunkin' Donuts is also offering Milky Way hot chocolate, available through March.

6. Meat Cake

You expect cake at a wedding, but one fellow didn't get excited about the idea of a sweet groom's cake. What he really wanted was meat, and his chef friend at Black Widow Bakery was up for the challenge. The result was a perfectly presentable groom's cake made of ground beef! After you read the cake story, don't miss the amusing FAQs.

7. Meatloaf Cake

The very opposite is a cake that looks like meatloaf, but inside is a delicious chocolate cake with raspberry frosting! This is part of a collection of Food That Looks Like What It Isn't, where the hot dogs and spaghetti are sweet, and the waffles are made of turkey or crabmeat.

Do you have any favorite recipes that would fit with these- odd combinations, extreme indulgence, or homemade recipes that make people cringe? Tell us about it!

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